iEARN-USA has recently added three fantastic individuals to its staff as it continues to grow and support study abroad and virtual project educational opportunities in the United States. We are excited to have added Shannon Pedersen as Program Manager and Kate Tankel and Program Coordinator supporting the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program administration in partnership with the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). We have hired Lindsay Myers as Program Coordinator to support the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) also in partnership with the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Lindsay Myers

Lindsay was hired earlier in 2024 as a Program Coordinator to support the NSLI-Y team, which supports students who share their stories on NSLI-Y Interactive. Lindsay first heard about iEARN-USA from her partner teacher when she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova. Lindsay is currently based in New York and has a BA in International Relations from William and Mary and MS from The New School.

Lindsay is originally from Ohio and is passionate about dog training, aerial dance, and of course, language learning.

Kate Tankel

Kate was recently hired as a Yes Program Coordinator, supporting several aspects of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program implementation. This includes application review, on-program support, alumni programming, reporting, and social media outreach. Kate began her career in education as a Fulbright Ecuador English Teaching Assistant. Upon her return to the United States, she taught Spanish to public high school students for nine years and led cross-cultural student and alumni programming. Her time as an educator culminated in a 2021 Kansas Teacher of the Year nomination in recognition of her student-centered approach to facilitating global learning. She is thrilled to join the YES team in support of it's mission to empower YES students and partners through transformative local and international programming.

Kate is based in Kansas and earned her B.A. in K-12 Spanish Education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her M.A. in Spanish Teaching at Southern Oregon University through an immersion program in Guanajuato, Mexico. Kate also enjoys spending time in nature, making up new chords on the piano, and slow travel with a good book.

Shannon Pedersen

Shannon was recently hired as YES Program Manager to work with our YES team to recruit and support YES inbound students from eight countries across the globe. Her primary duties include financial management and reporting along with additional aspects supporting the program during recruitment, pre-departure, on-program, ad alumni programming. Previously, Shannon worked as a non-profit J-1 visa sponsor on the operations team supporting Work & Travel participants. Shannon transitioned to outbound high school exchange program management. Most recently before working for iEARN-USA, Shannon was the Senior Manager of Grant Programs where she managed the FLEX and YES programs for a placement organization.

Shannon is based in Illinois and has a B.A. in Politics & International Relations from Messiah University, and an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adler University.